Issues in Public and Nonprofit Administration

Worker Pay

Worker pay equality has become a very talked about topic within the last few years, and seems to keep getting worse. Presidential candidates have talked about closing the large gap between the world’s wealthiest people and everyone else. Some states have already managed to take action. New York raised their minimum wage all the way up to $15 dollars per hour for fast-food workers. Many other states have been doing the same, causing lawmakers to draft a legislation to have a minimum of $15 per hour minimum wage law. The Economic Policy Institute has launched a raising America’s Pay research initiative to make the wage growth one of the main priorities. The initiative is helping by highlighting the properties that will help wage growth. Raising America’s Pay will: Acme our nation’s disappointment to provide a more broad-based wage growth by detailing and explaining past and current outlines of the pay and benefit growth and changes in the job values for workers by their wage level, race, gender, education, and metropolitan area. Research and clarify the role of labor policies and practices in overturning pay for the largest majority of workers over the last three and a half decades. These include different policy fluctuations, failures to change a policy, changes in certain business practices such as classifying workers incorrectly as self-regulating workers, institutional changes such as deteriorating unionization, and the ensuing shift of workplace standards. Identify policies that will produce considerable broad-based wage growth, beginning with raising the minimum wage, increasing access to overtime protection, and strengthening the ability of workers to collectively bargain. Connect with key networks of civic appointment and community organizing groups working on pay and job quality issues to back their campaigns. The main goal is to help those people who live paycheck to paycheck to make ends meet. Raising the pay will be crucial to the middle-class by reducing poverty and increasing their living standards.

The economic problem is that most of the middle-class people rely only on their wages earned from their jobs. What they don’t realize is that they might be taking home less than what they used to be. “Between 2002 and 2013, inflation-adjusted wages were stagnant or fell for the entire bottom 70 percent of wage earners. This extends even to those with college degrees” (A summary of the initiative). With such an inadequate pay growth, it has caused decades of lost wages. The median of workers’ wages has just grown 7.9 percent from 1979 to 2013. Which is a very slow pay growth considering the productivity and economic growth— “up 64.9 percent in that same time period—were robust enough to support strong pay growth for all Americans” (A summary of the initiative). That being said, the economic growth is benefiting those at the top of the economic latter and not the normal ordinary workers. Most Americans in today’s time are barely keeping their heads above water, even though we are better educated than ever. In order to rebuild and make the middle class better, wide wage growth must become one of the top economic priorities.

Also, the paid family leave laws have gained more attention by lawmakers, and have shown to be more beneficial to lower-income families especially women. “Only 12 percent of U.S. private-sector workers have access to paid family leave through their employers, but recent grants from the U.S. Department of Labor have been spurring more governments to research ways to create and fund a family leave program” (Farmer, Liz). “Rhode Island became one of the first governments to establish a paid leave program in 2014” (Farmer, Liz). With wages still low and without paid leave many people literally can’t afford to get sick. Women can’t take maternity leave without worrying about how they will make ends meet. This issue is being addressed by raising a small tax on the workers’ pay or some ass an employer tax. “The District of Columbia is expected to take action on a paid leave bill early this year. Significantly, it would be the first to establish a separate family leave fund and would likely be a model for several other states currently studying the issue” (Farmer, Liz).

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I think pay equality is a very good point and controversy that has been brought up. When people bring up equality in anything people mostly think of either women versus men or black versus white which is quite understandable given our past. I believe that women have made great grounds in equality but it is still something we still are faced with today, which is a shame. My mother has worked so hard in her life she is an assistant manager and she has been in that position for many years. The manager transferred stores then the company hired an outside person to fill the spot with no experience in management. My mother has been discriminated by pay and sexuality for years but my mother just does her job. I have wanted her to file a lawsuit for years but she doesn’t want that.
However, the minimum wage argument is unique and I am for it to a certain extent. “The federal minimum wage was introduced in 1938 during the Great Depression under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was initially set at $0.25 per hour and has been increased by Congress 22 times, most recently in 2009 when it went from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour. 29 states plus the District of Columbia (DC) have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage. 2,561,000 workers (or 3.3% of the hourly paid working population) earn the federal minimum wage or below” (Minimum Wage – ProCon.org, 2017). It has been raised 22 times already and the same thing happens every few years. My argument is why should people just be given a raise because the minimum increased I think there should be a system companies should follow set fourth my Congress that an employee is entitled to a raise. A system that recognizes employees that actually work and puts the effort into their job. Maybe a raise for certain milestones like a year employed and when certain goals are met in the specific organization. Raising the minimum wage to $15 troubles the people who have went to college to get a decent career to make more money. The other reason I’m against raising the minimum wage is the cost of everything would increase. “A 2013 article by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago stated that if the minimum wage is increased, fast-food restaurants would pass on almost 100% of their increased labor costs on to consumers and that other firms may do the same” (Aaronson & French 2013). As an organization and finding the extra money to fund their payroll they would have to increase their prices for products and services. Once again if there is a system that states when an organization gives raises to employees, I think, would be a better solution instead of raising the minimum wage for everyone.
In summary, raising minimum wage for the twenty-third time would be once again a short-term fix and a long-term problem. Until there is a system for employers to give out raises to the people who give efforts then just raising the minimum is just going to damage other systems like college degrees and increases inflation.

Raising the minimum wage has a domino effect. Business will have to raise the cost of their services, food, etc., as well as layoff employees, because they can’t afford to pay the new wages.

The minimum wage was never intended to be an “end point” for the worker, but a “starting point” for someone looking to make a living. For those who look at the minimum wage as the basis for their livelihood, they’re giving themselves a false sense of security.